266 THE MILK QUESTION 



cient to justify the destruction of milk on the streets. In 

 other words, we cannot obtain sufficient information, 

 "while you wait," to state with certainty that milk is dan- 

 gerous from a sanitary standpoint. It is questionable 

 whether the methods sometimes adopted by the health 

 officer and exploited in the daily papers with great applause 

 prove of sufficient permanent value to justify them. This 

 refers particularly to pouring milk down the sewer because 

 it is warm, or because it has a low specific gravity or does 

 not comply in some other particular with the regula- 

 tions. It is true that this is the only way by which farmers 

 and dairymen may sometimes be reached, but it seems an 

 unnecessary waste to destroy the milk, and it also seems 

 that some other punitive or corrective measures would 

 accomplish better results and be more lasting in their 

 effects. 



The following are the chemical standards which have 

 been found best to suit scientific and practical demands : 



Cow's milk. Standard milk should contain not less than 

 eight and one half (8.5) per cent of milk solids not fat and 

 not less than three and one quarter (3.25) per cent of milk 

 fat. 



Skim milk. Standard skim milk should contain not less 

 than eight and three quarters (8.75) per cent of milk solids. 



Cream should contains not less than eighteen per cent 

 of milk fat and be free from all constituents foreign to 

 normal milk. The percentage of butter-fat in cream over 

 that standard should be stated on the label. 



Buttermilk is the product that remains when fat is re- 

 moved from milk or cream, sweet or sour, in the process of 

 churning. Standard buttermilk contains not less than 8.5 

 per cent of milk solids. When milk is skimmed, soured, 

 or treated so as to resemble buttermilk, it should be 

 known by some distinctive name. 



The bacteriological standards for milk are based largely 

 upon numerical counts. Certified milk must contain less 



